The Group 3 Rugby League Grand Finals were played at Port Macquarie on Saturday, and the Wingham Tigers Under 18s were the only team to make the final day of the competition.
Their opponents were the Lake Cathie Raiders who were the first team to qualify for the Grand Final. They had beaten the Tigers in the first week of the finals by 16-14.
The first half was played in steady rain, and the Raiders were first to score with a converted try inside the first ten minutes.
Wingham then got onto the scoreboard after Kyle Marron chipped over the top, and then kicked again. The ball eventually ended in Brayden Livermore's hands for a try. Luke Croker added the extra points to level the scores at 6-6 leading into half time.
Five minutes into the second half, Lleyton Moore barged his way over the line to put the Tigers ahead 10-6.
Inside the final ten minutes, Ricky Carrington scored out wide, and Luke Croker was successful with the conversion to extend the lead to 16-6.
In the final minutes, with Lake Cathie throwing the ball around, Luke Croker intercepted the ball and ran 50 metres to score under the posts. He converted his own try to give the Wingham Tigers victory becoming the 2024 Under 18s champions.
Ben Guy was awarded the "Player of the Match".
(Brayden Livermore, Lleyton Moore, Ricky Carrington, Luke Ctoker tries, Luke Croker 3 goals)